Schloss Meiselberg

Schloss Meiselberg stands in the rolling countryside near Maria Saal in Carinthia. The building began as a modest 16th-century structure and later grew into a grand residence. Its irregular, horseshoe-shaped plan and surviving corner tower still show the original design. The castle’s value lies in its layered history and fine art. Under Hans Christoph von Metnitz it was enlarged in the 17th century. In the 18th century the Stampfer family remodelled it in the Baroque style. The great hall contains a ceiling fresco by Josef Ferdinand Fromiller depicting the death of Abel. A smaller chapel added in 1700 holds works by Anton Zoller, Kilian Pittner and a notable group of sculptures from 1710. Visitors find an asymmetrical complex of three-storey wings grouped around a courtyard. The older parts include the three-storey round tower topped with an onion dome and two small façade turrets. The chapel, used as a family burial place, displays rich stucco and paintings of the Resurrection. The marbled façades and arcaded walkway add to the building’s quiet elegance.